


what's in a name?

by QueenElsaThropp



Series: we grew together, like to a double cherry [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, Minor Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, sibling jason and cheryl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 19:19:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14722077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenElsaThropp/pseuds/QueenElsaThropp
Summary: Cheryl and Jason get a summer assignment for sixth grade, which leaves Cheryl with a huge question about their parents. Jason tries to help as best he can.





	what's in a name?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Please leave me comments and suggestions; I haven't written fanfic in years. Would also love any prompts for future parts of this series!  
> (title from Romeo & Juliet)

Cheryl and Jason Blossom had always known, since they were four years old and Jason got to pick the movie for their birthday dinner, that Jason was the golden boy. (Sure, he’d picked a movie Cheryl liked too, but no one had even _asked_ Cheryl.) He was the preferred twin- the heir to the Blossom maple syrup empire. Neither had ever thought about it much; it seemed to come with the territory of “family business” and Cheryl had been mostly willing to let it slide. After all, all that really mattered was that she was still a Blossom and, even if her parents mostly ignored her, at least Jason was still there for her. That was what counted, right? That and their special nicknames for each other, Jay-Jay and Cher-Bear.

So Cheryl told herself, year after year, as Clifford Blossom began to grow colder towards her and to groom Jason for taking over the business and as Penelope Blossom forced her into social events with other rich families who had daughters. (“But Mommy, I don’t want to go.” “I don’t care, Cheryl, now smile,” ever accompanied by a sharp pinch to her waist to fix her posture.) They weren’t even ten yet, Cheryl thought, smiling fakely up at family after family and wishing she could just go play like the other kids in Riverdale. (Like Betty Cooper and Archie Andrews and even Jughead Jones, not that she could ever say that to anyone. _Their_ names didn’t come with any stupid obligations or expectations.)

She’d never questioned it, not until their soon-to-be sixth grade teacher sent over the summer homework packet to the elementary school graduating fifth graders- “Name Meanings.” From the seat behind her, Cheryl heard Jason’s sigh- she knew he’d planned on playing soccer and touch football all summer, not researching his name. Besides, it was enough that their name was Blossom; who cared what it _meant_ , right? On their car ride home, Jason had barely opened his mouth when Cheryl spoke.

“I’ll do it, Jay-Jay. I know you don’t wanna and you know I like this kind of stuff anyways.” (This had nothing to do with the fact that Jason had real friends from school, not the fake high society kind Cheryl always had to put up with. Besides, it seemed like a cool project and names had always been important to their lives, _not_ that she _liked_ the idea of summer work. Of course not.)

“Thanks, Cher, you’re the best! See you at home!” Jason grinned his lopsided grin at her, waving at the driver to stop before opening the door and jumping out of the car. Cheryl sighed a little at his retreating back, watching him run off to pick-up soccer and missing the days when it had just been her and Jason and make-believe games. Before their parents had deemed it necessary to start teaching their children the _rules_ and _games_ of “society” and all the weight that came with being a Blossom.

As soon as the car reached Thornhill and she was inside, Cheryl wove her way through the maze of hallways down to her room (nearly on the opposite side of the house from her parents, but that was just how it had worked out, right?) and fell onto her bed. Pulling out the laptop she and Jason had been given for their tenth birthday, she quickly searched “name meanings” before settling on a website. Biting her lower lip slightly, Cheryl decided to start with their last name- if she was going to research hers and Jason’s names, best to start with the part they had in common.

_“Blossom- English: nickname from Old English blōstm(a), blōsma ‘blossom’, according to Reaney ‘used in the 15th century of one lovely and full of promise.’”_ No surprise there, Cheryl supposed, it did fit their family, or at least the picture her family wanted to show to the world. Opening another two tabs, she typed in hers and Jason’s names.

_“Jason- Greek: Healer. Cheryl- French: beloved.”_ ...oh. That wasn’t what she’d expected. Not that she had had any real expectations. Briefly, Cheryl wondered how much thought their parents had given to their names- as far as she knew, they weren’t family names and the names themselves didn’t really seem to be related to one another. Before she could sink further into thought, Jason bounded into her room, eyes bright and somehow full of energy, even after his soccer game.

“Hey, Cher! What’s up, how’s the summer assignment going, do you want help, also Mommy says we’re leaving for dinner soon, so we should hurry and get ready, we’re going to that Italian place Daddy likes, which means we gotta dress up fancy- wait, what’s wrong?” Jason trailed off, seeing the oddly distant look in his sister’s eyes. Cheryl looked up to meet his gaze and was about to respond when…

“JASON. Tell your sister we need to leave soon and make sure you’re both presentable.” Penelope’s voice rang up the staircase and Jason rolled his eyes slightly, patting Cheryl on the shoulder and whispering promises of a conversation later. Mustering a smile, Cheryl got up and went to select one of her (many) red dresses for dinner, while Jason sprinted through the house to his room, which was, by both twin’s accounts, far too far away from Cheryl’s.

Hours later, after an excruciatingly long dinner and one too many glasses of wine for Penelope, Cheryl and Jason found themselves sent off to bed with barely a glance, save for a quick shoulder squeeze for Jason from Clifford. Twenty minutes later found Jason scurrying through the hallways to Cheryl’s room, where he found her sitting against the headboard of her bed. Clambering onto the bed, Jason sat back against the footboard and waited.

“Jay-Jay...how do you think Mommy and Daddy picked our names?” Cheryl whispered, almost afraid to ask, so quietly that Jason barely caught it.

“I...I dunno. Is this about that dumb summer assignment?” Jason asked, looking away from the painting of the two of them hung on the wall. Cheryl looked out at him from behind the curtain of red hair currently falling between them...and that was never good, she never did that with her hair unless it was bad, she never hid from _him_ , her best friend and twin, the only one who understood her in this house, or maybe at all- it wasn’t like Penelope let her make friends.

Cheryl nodded slightly, pulling her hair away from her face and moving towards the center of the bed. Jason moved as well, watching as she pulled out the laptop and turned it to face him. After reading what was on each of the opened tabs, Jason pulled away and faced Cheryl in confusion.

“Sorry, Cher, I don’t get it.” He watched as his sister slowly closed the laptop and slid it back into the nightstand, watched as she bit her lip and tried to put the words together.

“If...if my name means beloved, then...thenwhydon’tMommyandDaddylovememore?” Cheryl blurted out, simultaneously hiding her face in her hands. Jason felt his heart plummet to his stomach as he reflected on the last seven years of their lives.

_Age 4- Jason picking out the movie for their birthday dinner, chocolate cake even though Cheryl liked vanilla better and even would’ve settled for marble cake._  
_Age 5- kindergarten, Jason getting to pick a special breakfast and dinner for their first day, his messy drawings always being placed higher on the fridge and away from the drippy water dispenser._  
_Age 6- first grade, Cheryl being picked as class line leader but never acknowledged by their parents even though only the smartest most responsible kids got picked._  
_Age 7- second grade, Jason’s math tests being shown off to business partners and family friends even as Cheryl’s 100% spelling tests were shoved to the bottom of the ever-growing stack of school papers._  
_Age 8- third grade, the year they were moved into separate rooms, Jason’s practically in the middle of the house and Cheryl’s far in the left wing; Jason being taken to fancy dinner parties and introduced (everything he did seen as “endearing” or “charming” while Cheryl was shepherded from social call to social call and told to “not embarrass the family.”_  
_Age 9- fourth grade, the first year they were allowed TV after school and the weeks and weeks of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just because Jason liked it best of all the shows._

And now, age 10- out of elementary school and had anything really changed, Jason wondered? No, except that now Cheryl knew what her name meant and what his meant and knew that her name didn’t match how she was being treated, how she had always been treated, by their parents. Sighing, he wrapped his arm around Cheryl’s shoulders and kissed her hair.

“What’s in a name, anyways?” Jason asked. (Years later, in ninth grade during the requisite reading of _Romeo & Juliet_, this would come back to haunt him as he and Polly Cooper fought the “expectations” of the Blossom name. It would come back to haunt Cheryl after the revelation that the Coopers were, in fact, Blossoms.) Cheryl shrugged and seemed to shrink even further into herself, prompting Jason to move himself to sit across from her and tap her nose until she looked up at him.

“Anyways, it doesn’t matter. What _does_ matter is that we’re both Blossoms and you’re my best friend and sister. Whatever Mommy and Daddy named us doesn’t change that, kay? And what our names mean doesn’t either, cause I’m Jay-Jay and you’re Cher and that’s what we picked for ourselves,” Jason said. Cheryl nodded hesitantly and then frowned again.

“What’re we gonna do about this assignment though?” she asked. Jason laughed, glad to see she was feeling better because, even if she wouldn’t admit it, Cheryl _did_ love getting work done early.

“We’ll tell ‘em exactly what I just said- that it doesn’t matter what our names mean, cause we’re Blossoms and get to do what we want,” he said. Cheryl grinned at him and hugged him close before he skipped back to him (much too far away) room. (Needless to say, their sixth grade teacher was not thrilled with the Blossom twins’ presentation on the first day of class.)

_(Years later, Cheryl would remember this conversation as she prepared to go find Toni Topaz, her chérie, and silently thank Jay-Jay for teaching her all those years ago that names are what you make of them.)_


End file.
